The subject invention relates to scan convertors in general and is particularly useful for changing the format of low time base parallel channel imaging type data into single channel high time base data of a TV format.
The best known prior art scan convertors usually require the storage of at least two fields of the applied data so that the current field of data may be received and stored as the previous one is scan converted. When digital techniques are used to implement this prior art method a very large memory capacity is required for the storage of two fields of data and the scan convertor cost is high. Analog implementations of the prior art field by field scan conversion techniques have been mechanized or suggested whereby combinations of light emitting diodes, vidicons, cathode ray tubes or other non-solid state devices have been utilized. In addition to the relatively high cost of the just listed analog devices, the non-solid state character thereof has caused problems with equipment reliability. Also the prior art scan conversion technique, whereby an entire field of data must be stored before scan converting, imposes a substantial time delay between the application of the data and the corresponding output signal. Such time delay is undesirable in many applications, such as tracker systems for missiles, for example.